You may have noticed that I’ve been offline for a few days. That’s because I returned to a full on Madrid summer heatwave with night time temperatures above 30c. Such intense heat is one of the few things that can put me off my favourite tipple.
Here in Spain the summer heat doesn’t stop the locals drinking red wine, they just add lemonade to it and call it Tinto de Verano. In the UK white wine with either lemonade or soda was popular and known as a spritzer. Then there’s the classic sparkling wine and orange juice, know either as Bucks Fizz or Mimosa depending which side of the pond you are on.
Normally I disapprove of watering wine down in any way. The addition of a mixer, as far as I’m concerned, is to disguise a really bad wine. Far better to order a better wine instead. However in the current heat I admit to liking the odd Tinto de Verano.
My Dad used to drink red wine and Coca Cola when he visited. I thought this was disgusting but turns out it is a drink with a long history here in Spain and is known as a Calimocho. For those of you interested check out it’s history below:
The Honest Wine Drinker 